Gabriel reminds us of some of the classical definitions of Yoga, reads from Rumi’s “The Guesthouse,” and shares what is the most essential Yoga practice of all - opening the heart.  But do not mistake this week’s rap for an emotional teaching.  With lines like “it’s your guru in drag” and “only the brave and intelligent open all the closets to stop the ghosts from barfing everywhere” this is not your Aunt Sally’s Sunday School teaching.  In a world where we seek easy buttons to make everything nice or buffers to soften the blow, Gabriel doesn't avoid exposing the truth that "there is no insurance policy out there that prevents you from feeling pain," yet he offers a practical and simple way to learn how to dance with the raw stuff. 

The Most Essential Yoga Practice of All - Open the Heart

“If you were sufficiently held when you were a child, that is still not enough from the yogic point of view.  There is tremendous doubt and insecurity of not knowing who we are,” raps Gabriel.

What are we to do about this gnawing?  

Gabriel reads Hafiz’s “Love is the Funeral Pyre” and offers his psychotherapeutic bent on how Yoga helps us burn the ego, our image of who we are.  He cautions against giving up the work of our practice and reviews what taking refuge in the Three Jewels means, clarifying that you don’t need to be Buddhist to understand these metaphors.  He generously tells us what he has found and if you listen carefully, you may even feel yourself with him on the jeweled dance floor.

Burn the Ego & Take Refuge in the Three Jewels

Follow along for weekly raps on the dharma as interpreted by the wise and colorful Gabriel Halpern, founder and director of Yoga Circle, voted the "best traditional hatha studio" in Chicago.  For more than 2 decades Gabriel was the core performance faculty member at DePaul University’s Theater Department and was recently celebrated as Elder Mentor of the Year by the Mankind Project.  Owing to the direct influence of BKS Iyengar and over 4 decades of continuous study Gabriel’s teaching is all that is yoga: zeal in practice, science, art form, lifestyle, and mystical mentoring. 

Go deeper with Gabriel at yogacircle.com 


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